<p>Of course you are not guaranteed money in lowering your EFC unless you hit low enough threshholds to qualify for federal and state grants. However, by bringing it down, you can increase the chances of getting more money. Most colleges have a bunch of grants that they distribute, using the EFC or other need figure as a criterion for getting those funds. Schools with SEOGH or Perkins funds are required to distribute to Pell Grant kids first, for instance. So bringing down that need figure can increase the chances of getting more money, but certainly does not guarantee it. There are need based grants out there that have income threshholds.</p>